The invention relates to digital data processing and, more particularly, for example, to more to the optimization of user interfaces generated by digital data processing systems.
Computer systems that facilitate business operations based on information specific to an industry or enterprise are well known in the art. These typically rely on rules identifying situations that are expected to arise during enterprise operation and the applicable responses. Such systems have been used in a range of applications, from health care to automotive repair. The rules on which they rely come from experts in the field, from the collective experience of workers on the “front line,” or a combination of these and other sources.
Though many computer systems of this sort incorporate application-specific knowledge directly into source code (using, for example, a sequence of “if . . . then . . . else” statements, or the like), more complex systems store that knowledge separately from the programs that access it. Some use “rules bases” that store application-specific information in tables, database records, database objects, and so forth. An example of a system of this type is disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,826,250, entitled “Rules Bases and Methods of Access Thereof,” the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference.
These and other rules-based business process management (BPM) applications are commonly used in enterprise computing, for example, where they facilitate a range of business operations, from marketing to manufacturing to distribution to technical support. By way of example, a BPM application can implement data-processing workflows to support the handling of customer service requests received by retail and banking enterprises. By way of further example, BPM applications can be used in health care and insurance enterprises to support the automated routing and resolution of claims.
With increasing frequency, these applications are implemented with architectures that permit their use over the Internet, wide area networks, local area networks, and the like. A common such architecture provides a rules engine that executes on a server, e.g., co-located with the rules base at enterprise headquarters, and that processes requests entered by support personnel via web browsers executing on remotely disposed client devices (e.g., personal computers and personal digital assistants).
Other software applications are evolving similarly. Those that traditionally ran solely on the “desktop,” are now increasingly being executed over the Internet or other networks. Word processing is one example. Though core functions are still supported by software resident on each user's computer, higher-end functionality may be delivered on demand from an enterprise or other server.
Unfortunately, the architectural evolution of BPM and other applications has not been accompanied by commensurate changes in their user interfaces. Customers must increasingly rely on those interfaces for everything from opening inquiries, to making purchases and entering into other transactions, to obtaining customer assistance. Enterprise employees and managers must likewise increasingly rely on them for everything from account inquires, to report generation, to customer and account support. Though the quantity of information pouring into and out of these user interfaces is on the rise, their efficiency and ease of use is not. An object of this invention is to correct that.
More generally, an object of the invention is to provide improved systems and methods for digital data processing.
A more particular object is to provide improved user interface systems and methods.
A yet more particular object is to provide such improved user interface systems and methods for use with rules engines.
A still yet more particular object is to provide such improved user interface systems and methods for use in business process management (BPM) applications.
A yet still further object is to provide such improved user interface systems and methods as are optimized for user interaction.